Printing of fibrous materials by impregnation



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Jan. 25, 1938. M. GREISER PRINTING OFAFIBROUS MATERIALS BY IMPREGNATION Filed June 7, 1953 Patented Jan. 275, A1.938

UNITED STATES Pnm'rnvc or FmRoUs MATERIALS BY IMPREGNATION Melvin R. Greiser, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to Carthage Mills Incorporated, Carthage, Ohio,

.ia corporation of Ohio Application June'l, 1933, Serial No. 674,723'

2 Claims.

My invention relates to the printing of fibrous materials, pile fabrics and the like. In the manufacture of carpeting and other pile fabrics it has been the general practice to produce de- 5 signs by weaving the material initially from yarns or threads of differing colors. It has been realized that fabrics might be more cheaply made were it possible to produce the desired designs in them by a' printing process employing dyes, after fabrication. More or less successful attempts have been made to print upon pile fabrics or brous materials by mixing dyes and mordants, together with certain materials to give body to the mixture, and then using the mixture in place of ink in a printing process. Difficulties have been met with, however, which in general have to do with the penetration of the color, the fixing of the color upon or into the ibers, adequate printing mechanism in view of the difiiculty of handling dye combinations and corrosive mordantamechanical difficulties in printing, such as the collection of lint by the plates,

etc.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an` adequate, vcheap and simple process forA printing by impregnation, pile fabrics or fibrous bodies. I shall-describe my invention in connection with the manufacture of a relatively inexpensive oor covering by a printing process from a non-woven brous body material, as will hereinafter be described in detail, it being understood, however, that my invention is by no means conned to any particular character of fabric, woven or unwoven, upon which printing is desired. If it is my object, however, to produce the said inexpensive floor covering, it will be obvious that considerationsof economy in process and apparatus become very important. Consequently it is a more specinc object of my inven- '40 tion to provide a simpliiied general process for the purpose desired.A It is also my object to provvide .a process in which, for the printing step, ordinary printing means such as have heretofore been employed in the felt base oor coveringart, may be utilized without deterioration.. It is also my object to make provision for a better penetration of the color, for the protection of the printing plates and general apparatus, and for taking care of the necessary supplementary operations, such as steaming the web.

These and other objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certain series arrangement of'parts of which I shall now set forth the. aforesaid exemplary embodiment. Reference is made to thedrawing, Wherein:,-

Figure 1 is a semi-diagrammatic view of a printing machine arranged in accordance with 5 my invention to carry out my process.

Fig. 2 is a representation of -a web of material treated by my process.

Fig.' 3 is a sectional view of' a steaming device. As aforesaid, I shall describe my invention `in connection with the printing ofv a relatively inexpensive non-woven, felted mass or pad of fibers. Such materials are now obtainable on themarket in wide widths. They are made up of a relatively loosely felted mass of fibers, for the most part animal bers. One face of the web is usually treated with such asubstance as rubber latex,y which contributes some strength to the web,- and also gives it non-slipping characteristics when used as a rug. While my invention is not limited to any particular material to be printed upon, the material referred to is relatively inexpensive 1and is suitable for the manufacture of rugs which are both durable and beautiful, and which are exceedingly economical .providing the problems connected with the treating of the same are solved. s

Hltherto such problems have been bailiing. An attempt has been made to mix a mordant, such as formic acid, with suitable dyes and gums to give body to the composition, and then print therewith upon the web. But inadequate penetration has been secured, the printing plates soon pick up lint or dust from the web and become fouled so that the printing is no longer cleanly done; and the acid mordants are corrosive in their character and attack the printing plates if they are of metal, and in any event attack the machinery bearing the printing plates. The steaming has had to be done in large chambers or ovens, and where intermediate 'steamings are necessary the process has had to be interrupted. Attempts have been made to steam lthe web by blowing live steam thereon from a plurality of nozzles; but this is both wasteful of steam and creates unpleasant working conditions. Additionally, unless the steam is specially produced, it is likely to contain oil or grease and foreign materials, which tend to soil the web. The admission of live steam to steaming chambers is subiect to the same disadvantages, though to somewhat lesser degree. In addition, Washings and dryings of the web, where necessary, have greatly slowed up the process; and these factors have in general made the printing of webs of the be applied and practiced upon other types of printing machinery, such as the rotary presses and the like; and I desire the appended claims to be understood as not limited to the general features of any particular character of printing mechanism, excepting where specifically set forth.

I have found that by the application of the mordant and penetrant or wetting agent first to the web, I secure a number of remarkable advantages. In the first place, the mordant handling equipment is localized at one point and is reduced to a minimum. Within the limits of sound economy it can be such equipment as is not affected by the corrosive character of the mordant, or if not, can be replaced from time to time, as necessary, without great cost. Secondly, the remainder of the printing m-achine, including the printing plates and moving parts are protected from the action of the mordant and do not tend to be corroded thereby. In the third place, the wetted character of the web, I have found, entirely prevents the printing plates from picking up and becoming fouled by dust, lint, fibers etc. from the web. In the fourth place, when the web is wetted without being entirely saturated by the mordant, the penetration of colors into the web is much more effective. The dye substance employed appears to strike downwardly through the web, penetrating substantially throughout itsdepth Without undesirable side spreading of the color. In the fth place, my printing mechanism handles nothing but the dye substance, together with such gums or other materials as may be thought necessary to give the dye sufficient body. This appears not only to give me a more advantageous substance for color application, but also appears to make for greater permanence in the web, In the sixth place, the character of operations performed by me are exceedingly simple, and Where desired, may be repeated as often as necessary. Thus the web may be mordanted and printed, and afterward mordanted again. Printings may follow mordantings as often as desired, and double printings may be employed.

Again I have devised a method and means for steaming the web. In general these means are analogous to the printing means in that they contact the sheet or web intermittently, as in the flat bed press, or by a rolling contact as in the rotary press. They are in the nature of pressing and steaming devices in which the steam escapes to the web through .confining means which not only permit steaming at a higher temperature, but localize the action of the steam and filter out of the steam such foreign substances as might otherwise stain or soil the web.

I have illustrated my invention in Fig. 1 as applied to a flat bed printing press of the type generally used for the paint printing-of felt base floor coverings. The press is an elongated structure built upon a frame I, having a table 2. The sheet 3 is carried over this table from a source of supply 4, by means of the ordinary chain carrying device having points to penetrate the web,

or otherwise as desired. Upon the framework there are mounted a series of reciprocating standard devices 5, controlled by cams 6. The standards 5 bear the printing blocks or plates 1. As the cams 6 rotate in timed relationship, the standards 5 are caused to pull the plates 'I down into contact with the web during periods of rest thereof, and to raise them out of contact; with the plate during the inking operation, and during the movement of the web. The web of course moves ina step by step manner through the printing device. Inking pans 8 to contain the color are-provided. These pans contain suitable application devices, not shown, but usually in the nature of rolls with doctors, and they are mounted to reciprocate longitudinally of the machine'. For this purpose small Wheels on the pans engage tracks along the edges of the machine, and mechanism is provided to move the pans in synchronism with the other movements of the machine so that when the printing plates are raised, the pans pass beneath them and apply color to the printing surfaces, all as is understood in this art.

An exemplary printing machine of this character contains 30 or more of the standards 5, which will be found adequate for the carrying on of my invention.

I have shown a web 3 coming from a supply roll onto the table 2. As an initial operation I apply the mordant to the web. For this purpose I have shown a series of nozzles 9, located above the table from which the mordant is sprayed onto the web. I prefer this met`od of application because it is one of the simplest and least expensive which I may use, but other methods of application are suitable. by means of felt-covered blocks, or by means of a roll, which may be of rubber or other acid resistant substance. Under some circumstances I can knife the mordant onto the web; but I do not ordinarily prefer to do this, since while I desire my web to be thoroughly wetted, I do not desire it to4 be completely saturated. Consequently spray coating or roll coating is preferable,.

in my opinion, either to kning or to passing the web bodily beneath the surface of a bath of l mordant, which, however, might be done.

f Next it is usually advantageous to steam the web after mordanting to soften the bers and increase the penetration thereof by mordanting. I have shown two of the standards marked 5a, as bearing steaming devices indicated generally at I0. These devices have connections II, with a source of live vsteam which may, of course, be

either the general steam supply of the plant or a special source. Steaming devices will in general be more or less of the same proportions as the printing plates with reference to their area, but 'it is obvious that they may be larger or smaller, as desired, and more particularly that more than an oppositely disposed pair of standard members 5a may be employed to control a single steaming device.

I have illustrated in Fig. 3 a sectional view of an exemplary steaming device. a top member I2, having passageways I3 for steam and having the connection II. Beneath the head I usually prefer to provide pads of fibrous material indicated at Il. These give resiliency to the steaming device, and also act as filters to remove from the steam foreign materials therein. A general, pervious covering I5 is provided to cover the under surface of the steaming device. I have shown at I6 diagram- I may apply the mordant.

It comprises l cn matically a two-way valve which may be understood as either manually controlled or controlled in synchronism with the operation of the printing machine by a suitable cam arrangement. This valve is connected by means l1 to a source of steam, and by means I8 either to a vacuum pump, or to a source of air under pressure. When the valve mechanism is moved to the left, steam is admitted to the steaming device. When it is moved to the right, the steam is cut off and connection is made to the vacuum pump or source of air. Vacuum is preferable because it tends more effectively to remove the steam. When the valve is in neutral position no uid pressure is applied to the steaming device. The general sequence of operations will be a lowering of the steaming device against the web under pressure, the application of steam thereto for a predetermined interval, thecutting oil. of the steam and the application of vacuum thereto, and iinally the raising of the steaming head.

Having thus been steamed, the web 3 passes beneath the printing heads 1 on the standards 5 and is printed in much the same manner as the printing operations heretofore carried on on felt base door coverings. The pans contain suitable dyes, together with body-giving gums. The previous application of mordant to the web increases the penetrative power of the dyes so applied. The pre-treatment of the bers with the mordant increases the fastness of the colors produced, whereas the previous steaming of the web also appears to assist the penetration of the y fibers by the dyes.

In some instances double printing operations will be found desirable. 'I'hus a plurality of the printing plates l may be employed to print one color, or the camarrangement which controls the travel of the web may be so adjusted that two or more printing operations by the same plate are performed upon the same portion of the web. l

Intermediate the printing operations if desired, another mordant application may be made as by means of the nozzles 9a, and the web may again be steamed by heads Illa.

Additional printings may be carried on as by blocks la, and a nal steaming applied, as by heads Hlb.

It should be pointed out that the nature of the steaming devices employed by me permits a much more eiective steaming of the web.

By reason of the close contact of the steaming device to the web, not only may the steaming be carried on under considerable pressure, but also for that reason at an elevated temperature; The purpose of the gum in the dye, as aforesaid, is to give it suitable body for printing. An excess of gum or poorly distributed gum is not desirable in the-web. If a printed web is treated with steam merely by blowing the steam upon it there ,p

is a tendency of the gum to segregate toward the top of the sheet, giving an undesirabley surface texture.

agent to penetrate the web and, so far as it On the contrary, in my process. there is a tendency for the gum and wetting segregates, to segregate at or near ithe bottom plates, though wooden plates are in general preferable and more economical. In any event, the machinery is protected from the mordant, and the plates show no tendency to pick upIlint and foreign matter.

After a final steaming, the web may either be finished, or if a washing is desired, it may be carried through a washing pan I9 and iinally steamed to dry it by one or more steaming heads I 0c, on standards 5c. .At the conclusion of these operations, the web is nished and may be rolled up for sale or cut into a series of rugs, where the printing operation has produced rugl borders.

Since a nal steaming may be employed to dry the web, I do not need to provide either steam s rooms or drying chambers, and in one operation I have produced a completed web.

It will be clear that modiiications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and in particular that my process may be carried on on other printing'devices thanthat specifically illustrated herein. 'I'he nished web I have illustrated in Fig. 2, where color applications 20 and 2l are shown as extending throughout the body of the fabric, the latex bonding coating being shown at 2.2. An increase in the intensity of the color shading toward the bottom of the web indicates a concentration of the gum at that point.

' Having thus` described my invention, what I claim as new and desire'to secure'by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In a process of printing oor covering materials having a deep fibrous body, by impregnation, the steps of treating a brous web at one station with a mordant liquid to` the extent of wetting said webgenerally, moving said web to another station and treating said web while wet with said mordant, with a selective color application without mordant.

2. Aprocess of printing webs of floor covering materials having a deep fibrous body, by impregnation, which comprises applying a mordant without dye to said web generally at one stage, passing said web to a second stage and steaming it, and passing said web to a third stage without drying and selectively applying dye without mordant to said wet web.

MErvrN a. GREISER. 

